This invention relates to a method and apparatus for liquid deflection for liquid spray generators utilized in impressing marking materials (e.g., dyes, inks, paints, coatings) onto substrates (e.g., fabric) and, more particularly, to a mechanism for producing a plurality of aligned streams of atomized droplets to produce a dye pattern on a substrate. This apparatus includes several arrays of closely spaced streams of marking material that are normally directed into corresponding collection surfaces or receptacles. Each stream in a given array has associated with it a source of pressurized air or other control fluid which, on command, forms and directs an atomizing control fluid stream into contact with the marking material whereby the stream of marking material is transformed into a mist of variously sized diverging droplets that are propelled in the direction of the substrate to be marked. By interrupting the streams of atomizing fluid in oscillatory fashion, uniform reproduction of various solid color or multi-hued patterns is possible. By employing such controlled pulsations, the marking material sources, directing fluid sources, substrate, droplet size distribution and the degree of droplet dispersion can be carefully controlled, yielding intricate patterns possessing great subtlety, delicacy, and variety that may be produced with a high degree of reproducibility. By providing for the nonsimultaneous actuation of adjacent atomizing fluid streams along a given array, a wide variety of side to side or fill direction patterns may be produced.
One of the major problems with this type of technology is the inadvertent misdirection of liquid, e.g., dye, into the air orifice and associated air lines and onto the substrate and other parts of the apparatus. Dye can wick into the air orifice as it runs past. This occurs when the dye speed through the orifice is too low to maintain a stable dye stream. Low dye flow occurs at the start-up, shut down or whenever a dye orifice is partially plugged. Furthermore, dye can mist and form droplets and then drip onto the substrate to be treated.
The present invention solves these problems in a manner not disclosed in the known prior art.